[Investigation of abortions and other animal health problems in relation to vaccination against Bluetongue virus in 2009]

By the distribution of a questionnaire between all Swiss cattle practitioners it was possible to investigate abortions and other animal health problems related to Bluetongue vaccination 2009. The questionnaire helped to obtain plausibility and timely relation of the reported disorders. 58 abortions in cattle and different herd health problems could be examined. Because there is no possibility to show that a vaccination itself leads to an abortion the results of proven causes of abortions prior and after Bluetongue vaccination were compared regarding their diagnosis. Due to the fact that diagnosis and solving rate of abortions did not differ before and after vaccination, the vaccination itself cannot be responsible for the abortions. Evaluation of different herd health problems showed that Bluetongue vaccination was not responsible for these disorders which often existed already prior to vaccination. Herd health problems generally have multifactorial causes what makes it difficult to asses the effect of Bluetongue vaccination in some cases.

Radiographic technique and anatomy of the equine sacroiliac region

Radiography is part of evaluating horses with poor performance and pelvic limb lameness; however, the radiographic appearance of the sacroiliac region is poorly described. The goal of the present study was to describe the use of a simple technique to obtain radiographs of the sacroiliac region in the anesthetized horse and to describe the radiographic appearance of this region. Seventy-nine horses underwent radiography of the pelvis under general anesthesia in dorsal recumbency. During a 5s exposure time the horse was actively ventilated to blur the abdominal viscera, which allowed assessment of individual bone structures in 77 horses. A large variation in the shape of the sacral wings, their articulation with the transverse processes of L6, and the relation of the sacrum to the ilium were observed. Females had significantly narrower width of the sacral wings. Broad sacral wings and bony proliferations at the caudal aspect were commonly observed features and their size was highly correlated with gender. In males, caudal osteophytes were significantly larger than in females. Five horses had transitional or hemitransitional vertebrae. Radiography with the ventilation-induced blurring technique is a simple approach that results in diagnostic quality radiographs and delineation of the highly variable bone structures of the sacroiliac region.

In vitro comparison of laser fluorescence performance with visual examination for detection of occlusal caries in permanent and primary molars

The aim of this study was to compare the performance of the DIAGNOdent 2095 with visual examination for occlusal caries detection in permanent and primary molars. The sample comprised 148 permanent human molars and 179 primary human molars. The samples were measured and visually examined three times by two examiners. After measurement, the teeth were histologically prepared and assessed for caries extension. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve were calculated. Intra-class correlation (ICC), unweighted kappa and the Bland and Altman method were used to assess inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility. DIAGNOdent showed higher specificity and lower sensitivity than did visual examination. The ICC values indicated an excellent agreement between the examinations. Kappa values varied from good to excellent for DIAGNOdent but from poor to good for visual examination. In conclusion, the DIAGNOdent may be a useful adjunct to conventional methods for occlusal caries detection.

Porcine ulcerative dermatitis syndrome in sows: a form of vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus?

Severe ulcerative lesions were observed in the skin of two sows in a herd of 540 hybrid sows. Annular to polycyclic, severe crusting dermal ulcerations were found on the abdomen and flanks; moderate lesions were also found at the base of the tail and on the perineum. The lesions were histologically characterised as cell-poor interface dermatitis and folliculitis, basal cell vacuolisation, vesicle formation at the dermal-epidermal junction and serocellular crusts. A subepidermal mild to moderate band, characterised as a mixed inflammatory infiltrate, was present. A test for antinuclear antibodies was negative; however, immunofluorescence testing revealed a linear pattern of IgG precipitation in the skin. Staphylococcus hyicus was demonstrated in the serocellular crusts of one sow. Treatment with antibiotics, topical antiseptics and corticosteroids did not improve the sows' condition. Porcine circovirus and porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus were not isolated from samples taken at postmortem examination. The observed gross lesions, the absence of response to treatment and the exclusion of other skin diseases suggested that the sows were affected with porcine ulcerative dermatitis syndrome.